The Breakdown March 12, 2025.

Show Me the Magic!

Are you ready? Tomorrow I’m going to tell you about the magic trick, but first let’s talk about real magic, shall we?

Magic is glamorous, but most people are lying about it. Nobody tells you how long it takes to perform. If you want to learn to do it well it will take even longer. Magic can be performed by a person on themselves or by the magician using it for creation.

This is what I thought I saw as a casual observer: Overnight success, raw talent, a final product with a shiny well marketed exterior

This is what I felt as a casual observer: Jealousy

I rarely called it what it was though. I would feel resentment and say things like, “must be nice to have that kind of money/connections/talent.".

I now qualify myself as a magic user. The title isn’t important. Sometimes I call myself a magician, a sorceress, or a witch. I mean it all very tongue in cheek, but I’m not the only one who has applied this label to me. When others have done it they seemed (usually lol! Please insert Monty Python “she’s a witch line here”) far more earnest.

I had an employee who frequently insisted I was an empath and my best friend is actually the one who started calling me DeMonica when we were thirteen. He used to frequently insist that he wanted to be the first acolyte of The Church of DeMonica, of which he insisted that I was the founder and High Priestess. May everyone find a friend like him.

Let’s get one thing straight though, I believe first in science and reason. I identify as an atheist. There is a popular misconception among the more traditionally religious that atheists reject all spirituality. This is completely wrong in my experience, but we’ll get to that later. Today we’re talking about magic.

So what is real magic? I think we all know it when we see it or feel it. It can be the warm feeling of love and acceptance you get after a good book, movie, or even a particularly good Super Bowl commercial. It can be the feeling of awe we see watching the Olympics, or a sportsball competition. I’m an atheist, but I believe in magic. Magic is the final product of connection, love, discipline, expertise, and respect. I’m sure there are other values involved, but magic is personal and I’m still just learning to wield my own.

Now I have learned something urgently important to share.

We are all magic users. We are all capable of magic.

YOU! (Yes, I am yelling) YOU! YES, YOU ARE A WIZARD HARRY!

It’s hard. It takes time. But isn’t real magic worth it? I think it is.